The Week in Soccer Marketing

A summary of the most exciting news in soccer marketing. If you're trying to keep up, consider this your one-stop shop.

Spanish Atlético de Madrid will face the best in MLS in the 2019 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target, played at Orlando City Stadium on July 31and televised domestically on FS1 and UniMás in the U.S., on TSN and TVA Sports in Canada, and in more than 170 countries around the world. “The atmosphere in Orlando will be intense and memorable when Atlético de Madrid takes on the MLS All-Stars,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. "Atlético de Madrid joins the list of the many prominent clubs in global soccer to play in our midseason showcase, and we know the passionate supporters that make up The Wall and the rest of Orlando City Stadium will provide a distinctive home-field advantage for the MLS All-Stars.”

Visapresented its global marketing campaign for the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019. The campaign is titled “One Moment Can Change the Game” and designed to amplify “the meaningful moments women are creating on and off the pitch, whether it be inspiring athletic greatness on the field, influencing business outcomes in the boardroom or driving economic impact at home and across industries.”

England’s women’s national soccer team locked deals in the past few months with sports drink giant Lucozade, beer brand Budweiser and health and beauty retailer Boots UK, and Lewis. England’s Lionesses got more interest from publishers and brands for this summer’s Fifa Women’s World Cup than the men’s team received for the male equivalent in Russia, according to Georgina Lewis, head of marketing at the Football Association (FA).

HBOgot hold of the exclusive US television and streaming rights to the feature-length film Diego Maradona. Drawing on more than 500 hours of never-before-seen footage from the Argentine icon’s personal archives, the documentary debuts Sept. 24 at 8p. Asif Kapadia will be executive producer and director.

Univision Deportesannounced a rebrand, evolving its multi-platform sports brand and cable network into ‘TUDN’. Under the TUDN brand, “Univision will continue to deliver more live soccer than any other U.S. media company while offering a richer and more engaging experience through new world-class programming, all-star talent and enhanced production capabilities,” according to the announcement, debuting this summer and debuting in Mexico simultaneously as part of a collaboration between the sports divisions of Univision and Grupo Televisa.

beIN SPORTS USA and HC2 Network announced a partnership with Azteca America, to represent media sales under one unified force in the United States. This marks a television network milestone as Azteca America leads media sales for beIN’s English and Spanish-language TV channels to cover advertisers and clients under one umbrella on an exclusive basis – including beIN SPORTS, beIN SPORTS en Español, and beIN SPORTS CONNECT, the live streaming platform.

Allstate has recognized 100 of the top high school soccer players in the country for their on-field achievements, naming them as 2019 Allstate All-Americans. These players will join the 150 standout teens previously named to the list after the fall soccer season. These final 100 players will complete the full list of 250 players representative of every state in the country.

Ramón Loarte, Sevilla’s chief marketing officer explained the Spanish league was late to recognize the value of marketing to an international audience but is now focusing on growing its audience around the world. “Honestly, I think we all have been very lazy understanding that the Spanish league is worldwide,” Loarte said Tuesday, comparing La Liga with England’s Premier League.

English soccer team Liverpool and AXA have extended their partnership, which makes AXA the team’s official training kit partner from the 2019/20 season. The Premier League club initially struck a four-year deal with AXA in 2018 which saw the insurance firm become a global partner, with the expanded contract covering three years until the end of the 2021/22 season, according to the Liverpool Echo.

Patrick Lowe has become La Liga’s new North American head of sales. Lowe will lead on all commercial efforts in the US and Canada across a variety of properties, including digital and social content, experiential and events, and sporting development projects. Before this announcement, Lowe worked at La Liga’s headquarters in Madrid as the global partnerships sales manager.

Ximena Cassab @xcassab

Ximena is a Swiss-Mexican journalist based in Mexico City where she specialized in business, and travel topics. Graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), she has worked as an editor at the magazines Expansión , Aire and Accent, from Expansion Group. Currently she is working with different media in Spanish and English independently. She is a passionate traveler who does not miss the opportunity to see a new place in the world.

Two years ago, the large-format retail store chain Curacao, headquartered in Los Angeles, began to send out automated emails based on customers’ interactions on Curacao’s website. The results have proven impressive, and Curacao plans to roll out new features offered by its automated emailing tool in the coming months.